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May 21, 2023

ReVerse Poem – Sunday, May 21, 2023

By Kat Myrman 
Whew!!! This week’s ReVerse poem is a whopper. I’ll blame it on the Landay, and the gut-wrenching, emotional, evocative tone of this short, sharp, to the point form. I’m not sure this stream of lines makes sense this week, except…it is very much like life itself. The highs, the lows, the joys, the sorrows, the incredible amount of grace it takes to get up every morning and do this thing called living again and again. The grace it takes to find gratefulness in being granted one more go at it. Peaceful journey to you. Remember to breathe and don’t be afraid to feel the feels! It makes life, all of it, worth living! 
ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, May 21, 2023

when I smile, it’s me being kind, not flirtation.
In my youth, god was a mean, old man...
The blood of children is on your hands
birthing is a beautiful, exhilarating mess.
There are women I don’t understand,
How are we so different from them, 
My love knows me well, every cell 
Do not kiss me only with your mouth
it’s the pleasure you take harming innocent lives.
a weapon of hate wielded by carpetbaggers
I’m afraid if I tell you the truth
We are not free, to feel what we feel
even in her distress, she weeps grace-filled fragrant tears.

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in 2023, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Week in Review

April 16, 2023

A ReVerse Poem for Sunday, April 16, 2023

By Kat Myrman 
Happy Sunday!  I decided to give today’s Reverse time to simmer. When I started it a week ago it just didn’t seem ripe. And in the process of reviewing, I made a few tweaks here and there. Most notably yesterday’s limerick poem which was atrocious in form…where was my head? To save you the trouble of revisiting said disaster, I’ll leave the edited version for you here: 

Uncle Ned

Old Uncle Ned, a likable guy was he
An affable charmer, the cousins agreed
He made the kids laugh
For his jokes were quite daft
Made us wonder what was in his tea!

At least now it is a proper limerick that actually follows the rules and rhymes! 

And secondly, I added a line to my diatribe from Friday, “a brief moment, lost”. As if I didn’t rant enough, there was one more thought left unsaid. You know how that goes, when the floodgates open and you finally unload everything you’ve been holding onto. Then when you walk away there is just one more thing…that “I wish I would had said” moment, but it’s too late. Well, that’s the beauty of the written word. You can edit it. So if you will, indulge me this final word, my “and another thing”. I’m including the context as well to give it full due…

…I have learned to look them
straight in the eyes, dare them to 
objectify me, to present my own
ideas, and tell them it’s time
to make their own damn coffee…
and while they’re at it, bring me mine.

To say that the past several months have taken a toll would be an understatement. But much like the wonder years of being a “mother of 4 under the age of 4…how did I ever do it?”, and later a mother of 4 teenage daughters, I’m finding my stride as a full time official senior citizen, still working full time and now, caring for a spouse who is incapacitated from complications of a major emergency surgery in January. If nothing else I am a survivor. And much to my own surprise I still have plenty of spunk left in me. Life is such a gift! Through it all, I think I needed to be reminded of that. 
A ReVerse Poem for Sunday, April 16, 2023

like a nightmare frozen in the sky
is it ghosts, god, or me I hear
how climactic
we dare not want
leaving no stained rock unturned
I’m just kidding (but you’re thinking I’m not)
I’m paying for the demons of your past
In waves she sweeps me off my feet
it’s on the internet
stirring up words, uninspired
let’s bring in the cows
They lied to us you know.
He made the kids laugh

~kat
A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in 2023, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Week in Review

May 7, 2022

A ReVerse Poem From a Week I Wish I Could Reverse

By Kat Myrman
Kat’s bird-feeding station in the Bramlett Mountain foothills – Spring 2022
The silence on my page might imply that I have not been writing much this week. But in fact I have written words every day. Verses, poems that went unfinished because I was distracted by the news of the day and all manner of war…against a sovereign democratic nation…against truth…against democracy itself…against women, most achingly distracted by the war against women in my own country, and feeling powerless to stop the coming tidal wave…as heartless people in power check us off, one by one. They won’t be satisfied with one victory…subjugating women, but will surely move on to dole out equal shares of misery on minorities that make them uncomfortable…people of color, LGBTQ people, non-evangelical christian people…who else will face their wrath before their thirst for blood is quenched? And even now, still, I wonder about the children…always the children who were ripped from their parents at our southern border. I pray for them every day. 

It’s a wonder I managed to write anything at all this week with this garbage swimming in my brain. So in the spirit of getting it out of my notebook and onto a proper page, this is a good time for a ReVerse. Would that I could reverse the cruelty of the humans who inhabit this planet…

I saw my first indigo bunting at the bird feeders yesterday…and a scarlet tanager…and a red breasted grosbeak. This is a first for me…three more beauties came to call, in person, just outside my window. All coexisting with the other birds, rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels and deer who happen by my little bird feeding station every day. You know, Nature has been doing this much longer than we humans…living in harmony…in balance. We could learn a thing or two. All this to say…that wee flash of brilliant blue…my little friend, the indigo bunting gives me hope. 

And with that…here’s the ReVerse of this past week’s poetry that I was unable to finish…
A ReVerse Poem From a Week I Wish I Could Reverse

i don’t want to write about this
there once was a town full of fools
true power doesn’t need to boast 
we have forgotten what normal is
a moment, just a moment take
true power’s not up for debate 
imposing their will on others until
remember all lives, 
but only if you’re white, matter, 
the rest are on their own
disdained after their first breath,
barefoot, pregnant, pregnant, pregnant, pregnant
heartbeats matter, breathing not so much
don’t ask, don’t tell
i don’t mind an overcast day or two
breathe in, breathe out,
you need a break
give it a rest
i worry for the innocents 
but i know the sun is going to rise

~kat
A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Social Issues, Week in Review

October 25, 2020

Sunday’s ReVerse Poem – 25 October 2020

By Kat Myrman
Blue Ridge Mountain Foot Hills aka My Back Yard October 2020 ~kat

It is autumn. The trees are turning, letting go. I should let go too. After a lifetime of clinging to expectations, you would think I’d have learned a thing or two. About letting go. About not holding on for too long, way past the point of no return. It’s a hazard of course, of optimism, of wishful thinking.

A dozen of more leaves drift from the treetops, settling softly on the damp ground as I imagine myself turning, turning. No amount of angst will change what is. Time to let go. Time to ride the wind instead of leaning into it full-faced, stubborn, unmoved. I wish you peace and health and love.

Sunday’s ReVerse – 25 October 2020

aflame in red, amber, gold,

listen to the wind and chill

there is no calm, no eye

I keep forgetting to breathe

barely forming waves, the air

this life is not for the feigned of heart

but half of us are wide awake

wintering beneath the dust

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week…or in this case, the past few weeks.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

April 19, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 19 April 2020

By Kat Myrman

last cookie
It’s easy to feel disoriented these days as we settle uncomfortably into a new normal. I am coping best by modifying my former routine while keeping it intact as much as possible. I work from home now; my cubicle set-up is tucked into a corner of my bedroom. It’s quite possible for me to never leave this room for hours, day into night into day into night…6-8 hours spent sleeping, another 8 or 9 hours working, depending on the day. It would be easy, but I have not let myself go there. In this bizarre reality, I am learning to get up from my desk, sit outside for a few minutes, eat lunch, not in front of my computer screen as I used to do, but at the dining room table. It’s ironic. I am getting better at work-life balance now that work requires no commute than I was ever able to do before.  

Then, there is the importance of self care. Rolling out of bed straight into my desk chair in my PJ’s is not something I consider to be healthy in the long run. While I have changed my waking hour to take advantage of the absence of commute time, I have continued to maintain my morning routine…shower, dress, freshen my face, brush my teeth and my hair, take the dogs for a walk, feed the bird, make myself a few slices of cinnamon-raisin toast with butter, brew myself a cup of tea with honey, feed and water the dogs, take in a bit of news. I am surviving this time of sheltering in by showing up everyday. Not that there is anything wrong with having a PJ and slipper kind of day. But I am doing my best to limit those days so they remain the guilty pleasures they were intended to be. 

Obviously, the animals I live with are disturbed by my constant presence. It is impossible now for them to nap uninterrupted, to wander the halls without having to entertain me. I am learning just how much they sleep while I slave to put kibble in their bowls. I love being home with them. But there is one thing I miss. It is their tail-flapping, wiggle-butt dancing, smiling, slobbery-jowl greetings at the door when I return from a long day away. Now when I pass by, I might get a lifted head, half-eye glance. “Meh, it’s you again…” It’s strange and a bit sad, this new normal…

It’s been over a month since I left my house, except to take trash to the landfill or pick up a few groceries. My one consolation is that I am here another week, infection-free to write to you. I hope you are faring well. That you and those you love are safe and healthy. If the fates are kind, I’ll see you again next week. Peace.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 19 April 2020

the tea leaves in your cup have much to say
eat the last cookie
try to dribble out a coherent verse or three
the piper will change your soul…
everyone tells me it’s so, believe me
not trying to be distant
I had forgotten

~kat

A ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

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